Six Months Out!

A few minutes before starting the day, I just lay in bed thinking of everything I had to accomplish. A couple of months prior, I took comfort in knowing that I still had more than six months to prepare for the massive 4,264km (2560 miles) hike ahead of me. This morning presented a significant day. It finally marked six months before I’d depart Australia for the United States before heading out on the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT). Time had suddenly turned from ticking – to tick-tocking.

As the sun crept it’s way up to the horizon I felt like I was suddenly looking down a narrowing barrel of time. The brilliant orange glow had me rushing for my camera all the while knowing that I’d been too busy paging through Yogi’s handbook over the last few weeks and in-turn neglecting to charge my camera batteries and clear SD cards. Luckily there was just enough charge and card space for the first shot of the day.

The day before I had asked Lindy if she would join me on a training hike out to Manly. We had planned for an early start to what was looking like a hot day. Not being much of a morning person I welcomed the early start as this will be something I’ll need to be doing more of in the desert sections of my hike as it becomes extremely hot to hike three to four hours after sunrise.

Lindy and I got started at 8:15am on our 12km hike as we headed down the road towards the Spit. This would be one of many training hikes contributing towards my PCT in April 2016.

I started my training in July this year. The start was quite casual and without a pack I focused on increasing my base milage. When I could manage 8 miles with ease I then started adding weight and then adding in a few more hills. It wasn’t long before I was reaching 10 miles per day but the hard part was finding the time to cover this distance most days of the week. I then took some tips from my friend Justin Lichter (well actually, I bought and read his book “Trail Tested”) who recommends increasing your milage slowly, going further one day then returning to your shorter base milage for subsequent hikes before pushing further again. This technique not only prevents me from becoming physically overwhelmed but also buys me time to focus on the preparation side which I rate almost as important.

So far I’ve become familiar with the entire PCT route via and I’ve been marking various points on Halfmile’s maps which will save me time when referring to them later. I plan to use the paper maps at night when planning the next days distance – then switching to Guthook’s PCT apps on my phone during the day. The trail guide app functions as a GPS which will help position me more accurately according to the many way points I’ll be heading for.

Since early August I’ve been hiking with two very large glass bottles of Gin. I grabbed them one afternoon to add weight to my pack and they’ve been there ever since which is a little ironic as I’m not much of a big drinker – but G&T’s are one of my signature drinks. So far I’ve logged 234 miles (376km) around the suburbs and foreshore tracks of Sydney. I’ve been tracking my progress with my Garmin forerunner 610 GPS. I’ve assimilated to the imperial system by switching the units on my GPS from kilometres to miles. I now know what miles feel like and without looking at my watch I can tell when I’m 8 miles in as this is when my feet start to feel the weight of that Gin. Crazy World! Cave men would be bent over in stitches.

Sunrise over North Head. Six months out!A massive Moreton Bay fig tree towers over Lindy on our way to the Spit.Lindy patiently waiting for Spit Bridge to close. I get delayed by this bridge a lot!

Looking south across Middle Harbour.Ultralight hiker (on right) taking light hiking to a whole new level.The Flannel Flower is a common species of flowering plant native to the bushland around Sydney, Australia. They are of the same family species as the carrot.Typical Australian bush – I’m dreaming of Washington.Myself and Ultralight with the North and South Heads of Sydney Harbour in the distance – taken from Middle Head.Sydney Harbour

My brother Kenyon taking a moment to enjoy the sunset after a long day on trail – Whananaki Bridge, New Zealand – 2nd November 2011

Dusk sets in – looking south towards the skyline of the Gold Coast – just over an hours hike away (4 miles / 6.4 kilometres).

My favourite section of track en route to the Jetty. The late afternoon shadows of trees which cross the track give me the sense that I’m walking slightly faster.

Sunrise over North Head, Sydney Harbour, Australia

Bluff at Sterling Point New Zealand, is well renowned for it’s starting and finishing point for thru-hikers. A passer by cheers Kenyon on towards the finish of his 3300km traverse.

With only 38 kilometres (24miles) remaining of his traverse, I took this photo of Kenyon brandishing his well earned flag which I designed for him. I had the design printed on satin while in Sydney a few weeks before my flight over to join Kenyon in New Zealand. I waited for the right moment – and on his second last day of his 3,300km long traverse, I handed it to him before he set off in the morning to cross the Riverton Bridge. It was an emotional moment for both of us as he unraveled his flag – making it one of the moments in our lives that we would never forget. Every town and city he’d hiked through is listed on the flag along with the TNZ logo which I designed for him when I first heard that he’d be hiking the length of New Zealand. There was just the right amount of wind that day which had the flag flying proud and strong.

Looking down to the colourful village of Namche Bazar and the Dudh Kosi Valley edging is way back down to Lukla – the gateway to Mt. Everest and the the Khumbu Glacier (the world’s highest glacier).

Kathmandu, Nepal: A Hindu sadhu – holy man – dressed as Hanuman (the monkey god) at The Pashupatinath Temple. Dozens of sadhus live around the temple devoting their life to Lord Shiva, the Hindu god of destruction.

Taken just to the left of entrance to the Sheikh Zayed Mosque. Constructed from 1996 to 2007 – it is the largest mosque in the United Arab Emirates.

A lucky break in the clouds. Looking up at Everest after Keno and I descend down to the mid point of Kala Patthar. The clouds added to the mystique of our surroundings. A short-lived yet unforgettable sight for each of us!

The view from The Burj Khalifa observation deck.

Cooling off in the fountains of The Emirates Palace – Abu Dhabi

Keno and I both claim to have taken this photo of the other. It must have been the combination of cold and the altitude bringing on high altitude subcortical dementia;). Seeing as it’s my blog, I’m going to lay claim on this photo. Kenyon catching some morning warmth outside the mess tent – Island Peak Base Camp.

Looking south down the Dudh Khoshi Valley towards Mt. Kangtega (mid peak). We are en route to Gokyo Lakes. Two days from when this photos was taken, Nepal would experience it’s biggest snow storm of the century.

Kenyon going through a gear check on the foothills of Island Peak.

Buddhist Stupa on the Everest trail (just north of Namche Bazaar), Himalaya, Nepal.